Should women take birth control pills, pastor?

Dear Pastor

I am 18 years old and my girlfriend is 21. I liked her from the time I was 15. She was always teasing me and saying how my pants front was 'buff'. My mother told me from the time I was a child she saw that my penis was larger than the average.

My girlfriend lives only a few houses from where I live. Every chance I got, I used to go there. It was like I was a part of their family. She and her mother lived alone. Sometimes we were alone at the house.

My mother used to always warn me about getting involved with her. But I didn't listen because we loved each other. One day she told me that she had a boyfriend and he wanted to get her pregnant, but she didn't want to get pregnant, so she went on the Pill and he did not know. So after a year of trying to get her pregnant and nothing was happening, he moved on to another girl and got her pregnant.

She showed me the pills that she was taking why she couldn't get pregnant. She took them every day.

She said I am too young for her because I am still in school and she wants to get pregnant in two years. I know I can get her pregnant because my mother feeds me well. Sometimes we have sex for an hour. She said that I am good. She is still taking the Pill. When she is ready to get pregnant, she is going to stop taking the pills. Nobody but us knows that we are having sex. She doesn't look as if she is 21. She looks like an 18-year-old.

I have some Rasta friends and they said that women should not take the Pill. What do you think?

D.G.

Dear D.G.

Let me begin by saying that at 18 you are an adult, but you are not ready to have a family. You might be well endowed and your mother confirmed that she saw that from the time you were a child. I don't get the impression that your mother was pushing you to be engaged in sex. In fact, she warned you about the young woman who is living with her mother. She told you to be careful. She didn't say anything bad about the young lady. She evidently was not aware that this young woman had a man and they were engaging in sexual intercourse, but she was protecting herself by taking the Pill. Her former boyfriend wanted to get her pregnant, but she was not interested, so they broke up.

The Pill is still one of the most effective contraceptive methods. It protects women from becoming pregnant all the time. If it is taken according to instructions, there is no chance that a woman will become pregnant. The Pill also regulates a woman's menstrual cycle. Those persons who told you that women shouldn't take the Pill might not be speaking from a scientific background, but more from a religious perspective. There are some religions that do not support taking the Pill or any form of contraceptive.

Nothing I say here is to encourage you to have sex with this woman. Both of you are already having sex. You seem to be very proud of that. I hope that you do understand that there will come a time when this woman may not want you around as you may not be able to support a home and she will want to have children. She is not going to be willing to have you continue to have sex with her all the time. One of these days she may tell you that she wants a husband and you are too young. You see, sir, in two years, you will be 20 and she will be 23. You won't be ready to have a home and a wife and children. Take your time to grow up. Try and get an education.

Pastor